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Member of Grant County drug trafficking ring is sentenced to federal prison

SILVER CITY — Gary Lee Romero, 32, of Santa Clara, was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, to 63 months in federal prison followed by four years of supervised release for his methamphetamine trafficking conviction.

Member of Grant County drug trafficking ring is sentenced to federal prison

SILVER CITY — Gary Lee Romero, 32, of Santa Clara, was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, to 63 months in federal prison followed by four years of supervised release for his methamphetamine trafficking conviction.

Romero is one of twelve defendants charged with methamphetamine trafficking offenses as the result of a multi-agency investigation targeting a drug trafficking organization led by Daniel Lee Jacquez, 35, of Silver City, that distributed methamphetamine in Grant County. The investigation concluded in April 2015 with the filing of a 34-count indictment against Romero, Jacquez and nine co-defendants.

The indictment charged the 12 defendants with participating in a drug trafficking conspiracy and committing a series of substantive drug trafficking offenses and a firearms offense. According to the indictment, the defendants conspired to distribute methamphetamine in Grant County from March 2014 through April 2015. Eight counts charged certain defendants with distributing or possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine and 24 counts charge certain defendants with using communications devices (telephones) to facilitate drug trafficking crimes. The indictment also charged one defendant with being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Romero pled guilty on July 13, 2016, to a felony information charging him with participating in a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy, and admitted working with his co-defendants to distribute approximately 500 grams to 1.5 kilograms of methamphetamine in Silver City between March 2015 and April 2015.

All of Romero’s co-defendants, including Jacquez, have entered guilty pleas. Jacquez was sentenced on April 27, 2017, to 108 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release; Crystal Medina Gomez, 51, of Silver City, was sentenced on March 29, 2017, to 30 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release; and Anthony R. Davila, 26, of Santa Clara, was sentenced on Feb. 21, 2017, to 60 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. The remaining co-defendants are currently awaiting sentencing hearings.

The case was investigated by the Las Cruces offices of the DEA, HSI and FBI with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service and the New Mexico State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard C. Williams of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office is prosecuting this case.

The investigation leading to the filing of charges in this case was designated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program, a nationwide Department of Justice program that combines the resources and unique expertise of federal agencies, along with their local counterparts, in a coordinated effort to disrupt and dismantle major drug trafficking organizations.